1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an accelerometer in which an electromagnetic restoring force opposes an accelerative force acting from the outside on a mass of the accelerometer, and in which a movement of the mass occurring as a result of the accelerative force is electromagnetically damped.
2. Prior art
From the state of the art, accelerometers are known in which a spring acts as the restoring force on a mass which is to be deflected by an accelerative force. Deflection of the mass which occurs due to acceleration is as a rule stabilized with the use of mechanical means. For registering the prevailing deflection, such known accelerometers often have mechanical position indicators.
A preferred field of application of this type of accelerometers is aviation equipment.
Manufacture of this type of known accelerometers is very costly and complicated, particularly when a high degree of accuracy is required. In addition, there is a considerable expenditure for adjustment means.
Known accelerometers whose measurement range is variable are particularly expensive. Further, in particular accelerometers having a plurality of measuring ranges require, relatively, much space, and this is a disadvantage, particularly in the case of aviation equipment.
In a totally different context, an electric linear motor is known, for example from U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,537, in which a current-carrying conductor is moved transversely in a magnetic field. As is shown, mechanical force effects occur in connection with such a movement.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,974, an electromagnetic spring is described. It comprises a repeatedly bent current-carrying conductor disposed in the magnetic field between the pole shoes of permanent magnets of alternating polarity, that is, with alternating magnetic field direction. Further details of this device will be further explained in the description of the invention in connection with the Figures.